


I’d Let You Had I Known It, Why Don’t You Say So

by demipunk



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, College, Humor, Imma cut to the chase this is an eboy au and you can not stop me, Internet Famous, I’m writing this for me but you guys are welcome to it, M/M, Past Relationship(s), Rating May Change, Self-Indulgent, Theatre kid AU, Tiktok plays an integral role in Jason Grace feeling like a luddite, clout, i think i’m funnee, it’ll probably get deep and you also can not stop that, mentions of RHPS, oh yeah also because it’s me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:34:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23373247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demipunk/pseuds/demipunk
Summary: “Heh, what if I wrote an eboy au?”“That sure is an idea.”“… Wait, but what if I actually wrote an eboy au?”Or, the one where the author decides its 2020 and someone’s gotta do it.
Relationships: Jason Grace/Percy Jackson
Comments: 35
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I’m gonna be extremely frank- It’s corona-cation time for me right now, and an E-boy/College/Theatre/Highschool Fling au is what I need. Take your simple pleasures while they’re here kids.

On the outside, Percy had put on a polarizing exterior. He was a kid made of flannels and second hand denim jackets, all rolled up cuffs and mismatched socks, hightop sneakers on his feet and a permanent scowl on his face. That kid that threw pebbles at his window when he wanted to hang out freshman year- God, what 80s movie did he steal that from and why did Sally let him watch it?- grew from an awkward ‘ _obviously not aware he could be trying_ ’ aesthetic to ‘ _maybe knows how to fake being a skater kid_ ’ by junior year, before he actually _did_ start skating. It was by their senior year that he had actually landed some form of grungey punk look with the personality to match, and anyone could tell you both fit like a glove. 

  
But despite the exterior and the attitude, he managed to be _that_ kid- The one no one could get mad at. If you could, and made that known, you weren’t the kind of person other people liked anyway. He was kind, funny, not exactly possessing the book smarts that his ex-girlfriend-definite-best-friend (there was a story there) Annabeth had, but witty and charming enough to get away with it. 

  
Frankly, it seemed like he got away with anything and everything. Ask anyone from their class what first came to mind at the words ‘ _Percy Jackson_ ’ and you’d get a circus of answers:

  
“Isn’t he the one that climbed to the top of the school to get his face on Google Earth when the satellite went by?” (Yes.)

  
“Yeah, Jackson was that kid who switched the national anthem track to Party In The USA before the homecoming game, right?” (…what are you, a cop?)

  
“The swim team guy? Yeah, I remember when he put all that blue dye in the pool sophomore year- Those dickhead seniors with practice that night looked like smurfs for a week.” (They deserved it.)

  
“Didn’t he get caught drunk at the Stolls party and end up shouting ‘ _fuck da police!_ ’ until everyone started chanting it? Like, _as_ the police showed up?” (Jason wasn’t there, but probably.)

  
“Oh yeah,” Leo currently commented, sipping his hot chocolate, “He was cute. In a real ‘ _Rebel Without A Cause_ ’ way- With a heavy emphasis on James Dean’s bisexuality.” 

  
Pulled out his mental montage Jason nodded, bringing himself back to real, technicolor time, “Still is cute, y’know.” Pulling up Percy’s Instagram, he slid his phone across the table to Leo, “Like, very cute.”

  
“I’d hope it hadn’t already gone to waste-” Leo’s eyes widened, “Shit, wait, major clout cute?” He pointed at the number above ‘ _followers_ ,’ a hefty ‘ _27.2k_ ’ weighing above it, “I know I’m not exactly that active on Insta, but I don’t know how I didn’t notice.”

  
“Well, it’s not like he’s really a _celebrity_ per se- Plus, Piper told me that’s not really that many compared to other people, I just can’t help but be intimidated by it.” Jason said, taking his phone back. 

  
“I guess Piper and her 50k are pretty good judges of what is and isn't ‘ _that many_ ,’” Tilting his cup towards Jason and flashing a smirk Leo continued, “What's got you worried- You got some secret craving for e-fame, Jay?” He laughed, “You could pull it off if you weren’t so camera shy, honestly.”

  
“No!” Jason sputtered before composing himself, “It’s just… I only noticed it because he texted me the other day. I was only trying to catch up with his feed to see what he’d been up to, and found that little surprise. It’s intimidating because I had no clue it ever happened.”

  
“Wait,” Leo put down his drink, crossing his arms, “You’re telling me he texted you first?”

  
“Yeah?”

  
“After what, 2 years?”

  
“Well, we’ve snapped each other since graduation, on and off again streaks, and we still follow each other on everything… I just hadn’t realized he’d attracted so much attention.” 

  
Leo pursed his lips, “And again, he directly initiated the conversation with you?”

  
“Yeah, I just said that.” Jason rolled his eyes, avoiding eye contact by getting very interested in a long sip of his tea.

  
“No, yeah, just checking, clarification, all that jazz,” Leo nodded, leaning back in his chair, “Because that seems like a pretty small gesture to get you that _‘I want to climb that boy like a tree’_ look on your face.”

  
Jason nearly snorted his tea out of his nose, “I- I don’t look like that!”

  
“Don’t think that I don’t remember how often you pined after him once you both hit puberty,” He shrugged with a casual smile, “You totally could, bro. It’s not like you guys didn’t have chemistry, and if memory serves I heard a rumor or two about what happened backstage junior year-”

  
“Leo!” Jason hissed.

  
“You really took ‘ _Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me_ ’ to heart, Rocky.” 

  
Rehearsal memories were a perpetual low blow to make for any alumni of their company, but Leo wasn’t afraid to play dirty if it meant Jason’s face was burning, “That entire cast had no shame and you know that for a fact. It’s not like we were the only ones who got caught on that couch.”

  
“I can never forget what I saw in the prop closet during those years.” Leo said in a faraway voice before snapping back to reality, “Regardless, what I’m saying here is that you shouldn’t get your golden boxers in a twist over him. It was just a text, right? Was it about something weird?”

  
Jason was drumming his figures against the side of his cup, explaining with a start-and-stop hesitation, “No, it was- It’s that he’s transferring into the school and uh- Wants someone to show him around, I guess? A-and that’s not a problem! I’d lo- I’d really _enjoy_ seeing him again!”

  
“It’s also part of your job. He might just be asking you to y’know, do your job,” Leo added before backing off from the glare Jason sent him, “Ok, I get it, yeah, we’re in denial and ignoring that part- Feel free to keep going.”

  
“Just… what if I’m not that… pine-able to him anymore?”

  
“Let’s see,” Leo gave him an exaggerated once-over, “Same glasses frames? Check. Same crew team arms? Check. Same total nerd smile? Absolute check.” He pointed a finger gun at him, “And you might be sitting on it, but every girl and gay on this campus will certify your ass has only gotten better. Might have to work to warm up to the goths, but that's more Nico’s territory than mine to call.”

  
“… Are you hitting on me?” Jason was half-serious.

  
“Gross,” Leo fake grimaced, “Been there and done that, and now I’ve babysat you shitfaced too much to want to get any more intimate than that- You are an adorably but sickeningly mushy drunk.”

  
“You’re worse when you’re high.” Jason countered.

  
“Flattery no longer gets you anywhere with me, Grace,” Leo shrugged, “It just sounds like he wants to see you again, not to give you an evaluation about if you’ve still got it.”

  
Jason finally sighed, “Hopefully not. But for some reason, when he comes... I want it to not be in a ‘ _just friends_ ’ way. I won’t die if it is, but…”

  
“But you’ve been single for a year and are too shy to go past 2nd base with anyone you’re even a little bit unsure of? And Percy’s just tragically familiar enough that your inside-Batman-voice might not be able to protect you?”

  
He hated that Leo could read him like that. “Yeah,” Jason nodded, “That… pretty much nails it.” It didn’t fully, but Leo didn’t need to hear the damned up feelings quaking behind it and neither did the walls of this cafe. Baristas went through enough as is.

  
Leo bit back a laugh, “And now you gotta emotionally prepare yourself to hopefully nail an eboy.”

  
“Shut up!” Jason gave an embarrassed laugh, “God, you really can’t resist a dirty joke.”

  
“Admit it, it's endearing.” Leo made an open armed gesture. 

  
Jason finished the last of his tea, “You could call it that,” He gathered the wrapper from the overpriced scone he’d wolfed down as a half assed excuse of a lunch, “I should get going, I have a paper that’ll gnaw my brain to pieces if I put it off much longer.”

  
“Sure, abandon me,” Leo put on a mock melancholy, “I’ll just fossilize here until you return with the results of your quest for coitus.”

  
“So you did crack open that thesaurus your tutor made you buy,” Jason forced himself to deny Leo the satisfaction of laughing at that, “Until next time, you giant perv.”

  
“It's _endearing_!” Leo half yelled as Jason walked away from him.

  
Jason tossed his trash as he left the shop and couldn’t help but catch a couple of girls at a table near the door glance in his direction. Through the glass doors of the entrance, he saw them look away quickly, the group laughing at one girl's flustered face when she’d didn’t turn fast enough. In the back of his mind, he made a note to maybe actually check if he did still have a nice ass when he got home. There were worse ways to waste your time waiting for your highschool friend/crush/fuckbuddy/sweetheart/bro to arrive and possibly wreck your shit.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It makes me so happy people are checking this out <3 I don’t have much to say except I hope everyone likes this chapter!

Maybe Jason should’ve told Percy he couldn’t afford to spend time showing him around. Say he had a really big exam coming up, but Leo should be free. (Ignoring the fact that 1. Leo had no sense of direction beyond the muscle memory of his class routes without a GPS and could definitely get lost in a paper bag 2. It legitimately was part of Jason’s work study job to help with tours when needed.) 

Jason could try going for a hike in the woods near campus and hopefully get lost for some time. See if he could find some new spot in the campus greenhouse to hide in. Get himself trapped under a fallen bookcase in the library. Offer to run an admin errand clear across campus and take his sweet time coming back. Or he could expedite a transfer himself to some study abroad program and start a new life in Canada or something. Anything to shuck off the responsibilities that came with touring your sort-of-ex-friend-with-benefits-you’re-still-into around school while avoiding word-vomiting your lingering feelings. He really, really, _really_ didn’t want that to happen. 

But Jason was someone who was physically incapable of cancelling plans last second- The idea kind of gave him a stomachache. So, he instead posted himself up on a bench in the courtyard closest to the entrance of campus and tried to reread some notes to pass the time. Visible, but obviously not looking for a conversation… at least, he thought he was coming off as such. Apparently not though, as it seemed nearly every classmate and acquaintance he’d garnered in the last two years was out for a stroll by and at best would say hello, at worst try to start small talk. Eventually he popped in his earbuds just to make himself look busier, keeping his eyes on his phone and trying to focus on the Google Doc.

Whoever let him take notes half-asleep in an 8 AM lecture class should be jailed, because trying to now convince himself that writing the bullet points:

‘ _•Painting depicts Jesus telling his followers one of them will betray him_

  
_-Everyone is BIG surprised_

  
_—Except Judas_

  
_—Cus Judas knows that Judas kills Jesus_ ’ 

Were somehow a mature way of handling a portion of his Religious Studies course was… difficult.

But just as he tried yet again to focus, he saw an out of focus pair of legs walking towards him over the rim of his screen, and upon hearing a muffled ‘ _Hey_!’ Jason spoke without thinking, “Sorry, I’m kind of busy.” 

It was rude, yeah, but what was more rude was the hand that yanked out one of his earbuds and laughed, “Too busy to do the tour you promised me?”

Jason’s eyes snapped up at the voice. It was gravellier than he remembered, but still belonged to the boy wearing torn to shit jeans and a hoodie that shouldn’t have looked good together but somehow did. Jason should’ve expected some change in Percy after 2 years apart. Still, that shiteating grin never changed- In fact, it looked even more at home on his face than ever before, but Jason couldn’t place why. Instead, to match Percy's natural ease of speech, a tone that effortlessly made you want to listen, Jason croaked with the elegance of a surprised teenager, “H-hey! Percy!”

“That's the name,” Percy laughed, plopping himself down on the bench next to Jason, “I’d tell you not to wear it out, but it’d look pretty good on you too.”

“… I don’t think you’re using that expression correctly.” 

“Who died and put you in charge of the English language?” Percy tried to look annoyed, but that cocky excitement never left his eyes, “Let a guy compliment you as he’d like to, my good Junior G-Man.” 

Jason couldn’t help but smile, “Wow, really? You plan on bringing back that nickname?”

“We did not binge watch all that Criminal Minds and dress you up as Reid on Halloween for me _not_ to bring it up,” Percy replied, “Pretty soon all have all your shiny new friends in on it too, promise.”

It dawned on Jason how long ago they did that but tried not to show the wistfulness on his face, and instead attempted to copy Percy's nonchalant tone, “You drag up old dirt on me and I’ll tell my ‘ _shiny new friends_ ’ to stay away from you.” 

There was a twinge of something at the edge of Percy’s smile, but he carried on, “Oh no, then we really should get on with the tour so I can meet those friends before you get to them, huh?”

The way they’d operated had always been like this, a one-two one-two of back and forth. A tease and release, an ‘ _I’ll really catch you next time_.’ Now it had fallen back upon him with such casual familiarity that the reminder that Percy needed him for a task rather than just a chat caught Jason off guard for a moment. That was the long and short as to why Percy’s arrival made Jason so nervous; With that boy you got so comfortable so fast, you forgot whatever was so important before you started talking, and Jason hated forgetting things. He really hated forgetting things.

So instead of forgetting, Jason ran for verbal cover, playing it all off, “Yeah, let’s not waste-” (Jason didn’t like that he used that word, but it was too late now, wasn’t it?) “Any time.” Jason was too good at wasting time as it was already, too good at forgetting what he should remember, incredibly adept at dwelling on what he shouldn’t. He was however a near expert on Standing Up, and used that spectacular talent to move from the bench like a regular pro. “I should warn you ahead of time,” Jason said as he offered Percy a hand up, “This is not a University Approved tour.”

“How dangerous,” Percy unfortunately ignored his hand, getting up on his own, “I’m up for disregarding approval. Lead the way.”

Normally when Jason gave tours he detached himself from his actual opinions of the campus. Freshmen parents did not need to know that the dining hall was usually way too loud, or that the west door to the science building stuck at the absolute most inconvenient times. They were interested in what hours the library had, and always gave their kids that excited ‘ _look honey!_ ’ face when he let them know the library was open 24/7 leading up to and during finals week. Jason’s job was to market the school and sell kids an idea of education for $50k a year. 

But he didn’t know what Percy wanted to be sold on, or what he’d even buy. Jason knew there was little chance he could bullshit anything, so instead he took Percy on a no holds barred explanation of the university. As he spoke Percy trailed only a few steps behind him, taking it all in with his hands in his pockets. 

“This is the main courtyard,” Jason gestured to the paths cutting through the greenery, “If you get lost and ask any upperclassmen for directions, you’ll probably get sent on a wild goose chase to put you back here- Which is actually a good thing, because it's a lot easier to follow the signs here and out yourself as the new kid than try to find all your shortcuts in the first week.”

“You know I’ll manage,” Percy nodded, looking around at the various benches scattered around the courtyard, “People hang out here a lot?”

“When it's a nice day out, yeah,” Jason replied as he kept them walking, “But it’s also the first place campus cops hang around at night, so it's best to only pass through once the sun is down, unless you’re trying to get written up.” Jason had more than once been asked what he was doing out so late just for sitting there for some fresh night air away from the dorms. 

From the courtyard Jason took him down past the admin buildings and offices, pointing out which one was who’s. Unsurprisingly Percy stayed quiet and looked like he couldn’t care less for those, but Jason figured it was a smart set of landmarks to know. 

However, what threw Jason off was that Percy didn’t say much more for the majority of their tour in general. Granted, Jason didn’t fully bring him inside any of the buildings, not wanting to waste his time showing him places he might never have a class in. But after they’d gone over where the medical center, library, dining hall, and the nearest ' _you should probably know this'_ things all generally were, Jason reconsidered. He tried to sound casual, of course, not wanting to push Percy, “Do you want to take a break or anything? We’ve gone over a ton of stuff, we can stop somewhere if you want.” He’d understand if all this was information overload despite how hard Jason was trying to make it seem chill. Unfortunately, them stopping was the first time Jason’s brain decided it would attempt to actually take in what having Percy here felt like- scary exciting unnerving confusion anticipation anticipation anticipation forwhatnotsure- so sounding chill was… difficult.

Tragically, Percy made a face in response, “Well…” He took out his phone to glance briefly at the time, “I didn’t think you’d be so thorough, honestly. Kinda thought we'd..." He trailed off for just a moment, "If we’re almost done then I should start heading back to my apartment soon, I still have stuff to unpack.” 

“You have an actual apartment?” 

“Yeah, its ‘bout a 10 minute walk from campus,” Percy gave him a half smile, “That a bad thing?”

“No!” Jason rushed to fake a laugh, “No, it's just that most people don’t find housing off campus until senior year.” ‘ _Because rent costs half your soul everywhere within a mile,_ ’ Jason’s brain snapped, ‘ _What devil did you make a deal with, and does he take card?’_

Percy shrugged, “I have a mutual that knows a guy with some family in the area whose uncle was willing to rent a studio to me.”

“Sick,” Jason tried to mean it, really, but he also wanted to scream because he’d kind of kill not to still be living in a dorm single, “I’ll have to stop by some time.”

With a laugh Percy feigned scandal, “Wow, Jason, inviting yourself over to my place already? What will my mother think?” If he saw the blush that gave Jason, Percy ignored it to add, “She said to tell you _‘hi,’_ by the way. Misses you.”

“Sally really said that she missed me?”

“… Well, yeah, she said she misses ‘ _you_ ,’ as in our whole friend group, Jay.” 

“Of course she does,” Jason totally-didn’t-lie, and fake-laughed again just to show it, “Of course-” To further aid his case he looked at his own phone, conveniently avoiding Percy’s confused expression, “You going is probably fine, there's not much left to show you that you couldn’t figure out on your own anyway. Visitor center’s got brochures for _days._ ” Wow, Jason hadn’t hated a sentence coming out of his mouth that much in a while. 

Percy stifled a chuckle, “Sweet, I’ll be sure to go raid those,” He bumped his fist against Jason’s arm, “Thanks for kicking me off your killer free tour, I’ll be sure to leave you a good Yelp review and tip for excellent service.” 

“You better,” Jason wanted to be cool and so gave Percy a little fake punch too, “Go have fun unpacking the apartment you won’t let me see.”

“Naturally,” Percy nodded behind them, “Back towards the courtyard to get off campus again, right?”

“Yep, just follow the paths,” And just because it could only minorly hurt him to offer, Jason added, “And you can call me if you need help with anything.”

Percy had just started to turn on his heel but stopped to respond, “I just might if you’re offering, Superman.”

The _‘Superman’_ hit different for some incredibly stupid reason, some reason that then held Jason down and forced him to reply as Percy already began walking off, “If no, I'll see you on the way to class tomorrow?”

“It’s Saturday, Jason.” Percy shot back effortlessly.

Percy kept walking like that hadn’t mortally wounded Jason, leaving him only able to croak out after him, “I knew that!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact, those notes? Actual notes from my art history lecture. I got an A- in that class. I’m a beautiful disaster, folks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, this chapter is fairly dialogue heavy to set up the next one- And also because I just love writing Jason and Leo talking. They really deserved more bonding and bro time in canon, okay?

“Wait, tell me how he got the apartment again?” Leo was throwing a stress ball from Jason’s desk up in the air and catching it again and again. 

“Something about a ‘ _mutual_ ’ who knew somebody who had family in the area and an uncle of theirs hooked him up with a studio.”  
  
“Damn, talk about networking,” Leo sounded almost impressed, “Wonder how much rent is- Does he have roommates?”

Jason shrugged with a sigh, “He didn’t say… Really he didn’t say much after that first conversation we had when he showed up, and a bit before he had to go.”

“I’m sensing that’s messing with you by the face you’re making,” Leo replied, “But that might just be because you’ve been lying upside down off your bed since I got here.”

With just a glare given to him Leo knew Jason had no plans of sitting up until the spirit truly moved him. Instead he spoke, “I just don’t know why he didn’t, Leo. Was I boring him? Did I do too much? What if he didn’t actually want the tour and wanted to hang out, but I misinterpreted and made it seem like _I_ didn’t want to catch up?”

“I’m gonna be real with you man,” Leo caught the ball and held it aloft towards Jason, pointing with it still in his hand, “I don’t think Percy has the true urge to just lie to someone over something that petty- If he said he wanted the tour, he wanted it, end of story, no secret agenda.”

That received another sigh from Jason, “He is a good liar though when he tries. Percy could have wanted to be literally anywhere besides that tour, but went with it when I started walking to, I don’t know, spare my feelings?”

“I really don’t think it's as bad as you’re making yourself think it is. If you’re that worried you bored him half to death on your first impression since high school, think of something fun to do to make up for it.”

“You thinking I have the brain power to come up with a fun idea on the spot is a huge compliment.” 

Leo smiled, “Well, maybe you could, y’know, bring him to a party? A super cool, loud, crazy fun, Leo-really-wants-to-go party.”

“This was just a segue into telling me about some invitation you got, isn’t it?”

Shamelessly avoiding admitting that was a ‘ _yes_ ’ Leo continued, “I’m just saying the Stoll’s may or may not be holding one Friday night. You know how sick their parties are.”

Jason rolled his eyes, “Yeah, mini raves held in abandoned warehouses and the night ending with a really solid chance of the cops showing up. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“I swear to God, Jason, if you do not find an outlet to let loose with soon I WILL drag you out of this room and dump you in the fountain at the gate.”

“I have outlets!” Jason protested immediately, eyebrows knit together, “ _Creative_ outlets too!”

Leo stared him down with a raised eyebrow, “You build mini models of cities in your spare time. That is not an outlet, it is what they give senior citizens workshops on in retirement homes.”

“It counts.” Jason grumbled, crossing his arms. The gesture looked much less intimidating when Leo looked at it upside down.

“Just ask him to come with us and prove that you know how to not be boring. Doesn’t hurt to try.”

“‘ _Doesn’t hurt to try_ ’ are a lot of people’s last words, Leo.”

There was a pause hung in the air after Jason’s reply, both of them just staring at the other. Sometimes when Jason looked at Leo too hard he couldn’t help but remember the few times they’d tried some stuff, times he’d been more than a friend for a couple hours. Really, Leo should’ve been the best person to verify that Jason was desirable, especially since him and Percy had once gotten along like a house fire, before graduation.

And sometimes when Leo looked at Jason too hard he’d decide to semi-spike a stress ball right into his stomach to knock the air out of him. It didn’t actually hurt, but it definitely was unexpected. While Jason let out an ‘ _oof_ ’ and a groan that came right from his chest Leo spoke, “Make another excuse not to shoot your shot and I’ll _scream_. Accept that your best friend gives good advice and invite the boy, dummy.” 

“Ok, ok, fine!” Jason resigned, “I’ll- I’ll try to get him to come, ok?”

Leo gave him a beaming smile, “Now that’s what we like to hear at Best-Fucking-Wingman-Ever Inc.!”

“What’s the charge to get in gonna be?” Jason thought he should probably offer to cover Percy since it’d be his first Stoll event since high school cast parties, which absolutely paled in comparison to the borderline ragers now thrown on the weekends. 

See, in high school no one had to pay to get in like it was some sort of club, but also there was no way to get any booze without breaking into someone’s parent’s liquor cabinet, plus they all had to leave before midnight- but now they were adults, and the Stolls were weasley of-age bastards that figured out that if they had a door fee instead of having people pay for however many drinks they grabbed, they could cover the cost of however much shit they bought and then some. He’d be lying if he didn’t admire that kind of side hustle.

“That’s the best part, dude,” Leo reached over to bop Jason on the nose, “Some frat owes them a favor and are buying all the drinks for them- You just gotta meet the theme to get in this time around.”

“… It’s a theme party?” Jason raised a brow, “Is it something stupid? Please don’t convince me to bring Percy along just to see me dressed up like an idiot.” 

“It's supposed to be the 90's, you’ll survive.” Leo laughed at him, “Just whip out a flannel and some guyliner and call it grudge- Better yet, go as some generic boy band guy, you’ve got the look already.”

Jason finally sat up to make a full face at Leo, “I do not look like a 90’s boy band member!” Then he grimaced, lying down flat quickly, “ _Fuck, headrush headrush headrush, who let me get up that fast._ ”

“I have a hunch, and when I’ve confirmed it, I’ll be sure to call the proper authorities to arrest you for inconveniencing yourself by not remembering what happens when all your blood goes to your head.” The reply was said with mock-sincerity as Leo tried to keep a straight face.

Jason grumbled, “‘Preciate it.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi folks! sorry for the wait, covid's majorly distorting my concept of time and things I want to get done. This chapter is a wee bit longer than the last few and ended up getting a wee bit deeper than I intended to too lmao

For someone new to the area, somehow it didn’t take much to convince Percy that he should take up Jason’s invitation to a literal abandoned warehouse outside of the city. Maybe he trusted him, or maybe he just wanted to party. Either way, it cemented Jason's decision to go. As Leo had so delicately texted him, Jason had to  _ ‘stand tf up and stop acting like you haven’t known this mf for years.’  _

Admittedly that was pretty solid advice.

That advice brought him to idling his car outside the address Percy sent him for his apartment. Just as he’d said it’d be it was just a short shot off-campus. His place was in one out a row of brownstone fronts; The only thing that distinguished it from the others was what looked like strings or strips of LED lights along the walls through the window. They shined a blue light across the otherwise dim street and were something to focus on besides the flickering street light that was doing anything but its job. For an area gentrified by college students starving for boutique storefronts and kitschy small businesses, the city really should have been putting more funding into the infrastructure.

A knock on the passenger side window shook Jason out of his thoughts. He unlocked the door and Percy opened it to-  _ Oh, wow. _

See, Jason thought very little of going with the safe plan of a faux-grunge look. It's not like he totally slacked off, but he certainly wasn’t screaming _ ‘look at me, I am an icon’  _ with his beat-up converse and Nirvana shirt under an oversized flannel. Drop him into a grocery store at 2 AM and he’d be just another college kid scavenging for RedBull and takis. 

But here Percy was in a crop top and ripped jeans with fishnets underneath. He wore over it a zip-up jacket that could be most kindly described as  _ loud _ . What it possibly lacked inaccuracy (Did people actually go that hard? Was this going hard, or did Percy just manage to make anything seem extra? Jason hadn’t paid close enough attention to his older sister's high school wardrobe to truly grasp the fashion.) it made up for in thematics; He could’ve walked straight off the set of an after school special about the dangers of recreational drugs and trusting people just because they're hot. Percy wasted no time hopping in the car to greet him, “Hey, what’s up my man?”

“Nothing much, nothing much,” Jason completely lied, trying to be as casual as possible as he went between flicking his eyes towards Percy- towards his midriff and his fishnets and his hair and- “You look like a Dixie cup.”

While Jason debated shoving his head through the steering column Percy laughed, tugging at the collar of his jacket, “That’s the point! Nothing screams  _ ‘90’s’ _ like the Jazz lines.”

“Exactly,” Jason turned to Percy with half a smile, trying to be, well, chill for five seconds, “It’s cool, I like it!”

“Thanks,” Percy grinned back and Jason caught a flash of something metal near his bottom lip, “And you… look like you raided my closet from high school!”

“If you’re trying to say that as a bad thing you’re just insulting yourself,” Squinting, Jason added, “Wow, the fake stud really sells the look.”

Percy cocked his head to the side slightly, raising a brow, “Uh, it’s not fake. See?” He reached up to flick on the car's light then brought his hand to his mouth to pull down his lower lip, exposing the end of the piercing before letting go, “It's a labret- got it during my  _ first _ orientation week, and it’s all been uphill since then.” 

Now that Percy had confirmed its legitimacy, Jason realized that was what had made Percy’s troublemakers smile that much more at home when Jason first saw it again in person. He couldn’t fault himself, Jason just must not have picked up on it in the selfies on Percy’s Instagram. He tried to avoid online-stalking anyone ever since Leo berated him for accidentally liking someone's post from 2017. It dawned on him that he felt increasingly out of touch near every day, unfortunately.

It also dawned on Jason then and there that he found lip piercings very attractive, and asked without thinking, “Are you saying you got more?”

“What, piercings?” Percy replied, “Yeah, a couple- You were there on the original _ ‘The Gang Walks Into Claire’s And Confuses The Piercing Gun Girl For 20 Minutes’  _ day in high school, right?” He looked away like he was counting in his head, “The industrial bar on my right ear came a couple of weeks after the labret because a buddy dared me to. Then I got drunk and let a girl gimme high lobe piercings at a party, and  _ then _ I got  _ high  _ and let a  _ guy  _ give me a nose piercing at a  _ different  _ party, but I took that one out when I went back home for the summer. I can only break my mom's heart so many times in my life, y’ know? Of course, then I got my tongue done at the end that summer because she told me it was something she’d always wanted to do too, so that was pretty cool.” Percy instinctively brushed his hand over the piercing as he rattled his list off effortlessly- Jason thought he recognized it as the classic  _ ‘I have this prepared as a get-to-know-me conversation piece for flirting- Look, this is proof I’m a charming bad boy and have an excellent relationship with my mom…’ _ But maybe that was just a good sum of who Percy was generally. 

“Wow, even Sally’s on the piercing train,” It did make Jason smile as he imagined Ms. Jackson sitting in a piercing studio with Percy as her hype man before both going home to show off to her husband and Percy’s little sister, “Hell, makes me wonder if I should get something, ha.”

Of course, Jason had been joking. He laughed at the end, for God’s sake. But Percy replied near-instantly with whiplash levels of sincerity, “Whoa, deadass I will find you a guy  _ tonight  _ if you let me get that shit on video, Jason.”

“Why would you want that on video?!”

“Because  _ ‘When Jason Gets An Impulse Piercing’ _ comes out just underneath  _ ‘When Pigs Fly’ _ in terms of _ ‘I Have Got To See This Shit To Believe It.’ _ ”

_ ‘I can be impulsive,’  _ Jason wanted to protest. More so, he wanted to prove it, he wanted to surprise him, he wanted to kiss Percy like they were in a movie and this would make the audience laugh. Say  _ ‘hows that for impulse?’ _ and smirk while Percy plays the love interest with a surprised but impressed smile. Cut to the party scene, where there’s a big climactic character-defining moment that leads to the main conflict of the film, backed by a top 40 dance track. Then the falling action as Jason confesses his feelings like they’re facts and everyone smiles knowingly because they’ve been rooted for him the whole film, screen fading to black. They get an 89% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes and someone writes an op-ed on why Jason was actually a bad protagonist and gets his actor  _ and _ the director doxxed… Yeah, no, bad idea, no more movie fantasies until he figures out storylines that don’t end in his life getting ruined. Instead, Jason flexed his fingers on the steering wheel and rolled his eyes, starting to pull out of his parking spot as he spoke, “Ha-ha, ‘cus that’s  _ so  _ funny.” 

“I have a bit of a reputation to uphold as an internet funny man, to be fair.” Percy sounded cocky and Jason pretended to know what that phrase meant. As he drove Percy started fiddling with the knobs on his radio, skipping through channels of static-y oldies and the men with smooth voices who talked about politics like they were the only people who paid attention and made Jason feel gross. He’d had enough of suspicious political conversations that unfortunately went over his head growing up at family dinner parties. Percy suddenly turned back to a channel a few clicks back and spoke, “Wait, is that  _ Nico _ ?”

They’d tuned in in the middle of a sentence, and Nico di Angelo’s clipped Italian accent spilled into the car, “-by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. Now, I don’t know which of you thinks its funny to suggest I play a song that starts off saying  _ ‘sleep’- _ ”

Jason listened closer as Percy turned up the volume, “Oh, yeah. He runs one of the student radio stations, he’s got the late-night slot on the weekends.” 

“Nico di-fucking-Angelo,” Percy whistled low and continued, not quite replying to Jason, still sounding surprised, “How’d I not realize he went here?”

“I mean, this is a big school, Percy,” They slowed to a stop at a red light, drawing farther out of town, “A lot of people we went to high school with came over- the Stolls, Nico, Leo, Piper...” Jason didn’t consider it a bad thing that so many of them enrolled- The school was comfortably on the East Coast but far enough away from the high school the majority of them crossed paths for the first time. “Did you think I was the only one here?”

“I guess I just wasn’t thinking about it,” Percy replied, and Jason hoped that wasn’t embarrassment tinting his voice, “I was kind of busy figuring out the transfer, and you guys have a great Marine Bio program.”

“Why did you transfer, anyway?” 

“Eh,” Percy gave an exaggerated groan, “Let's just call it creative differences.” He turned up the radio further with a laugh before Jason could press any further on what  _ ‘creative differences’ _ someone can have with a college. 

All Jason could focus on was Nico saying, “Now here’s something to wake up the grand party of one I’ve got going in the studio right now…” as quick, sharp guitar chords began playing over the end of his sentence. 

_ ‘I remember going/Out to see the big whites/Went without you knowing/Hope you’re not too mad’ _

Percy’s voice joined in for the last few words of the chorus, “ _ I go a lot, I go a lot. _ ” When Jason glanced over, he could see him smiling. 

Before he could ask Percy who this band was, the song began speeding up, and Jason had to keep his eyes on the road as Percy kept up with the beat. He’d known Percy’s singing voice since he’d been in his first show with him, when Jason watched from the side stage as Percy progressed from auditions to hopping onto the roof of a car as he sang the lead vocals in  _ ‘Greased Lightning.’ _ Piper kept reminding him how lucky he was he got Teen Angel, as Jason kept track of how Percy looked stage flirting with their Rizzo. Even all these years later, he got a certain kind of nervousness listening to him. 

That nerve shot him near through the roof as Percy raised his voice, “But that don't change that you're a  _ liar _ , a  _ liar _ !” It caught him off guard, and his reaction made Percy break away from his sing-along to stifle a laugh. 

Jason finally found a place to speak, “Y’know, you laugh at me a lot.”

“I mean this with so much love,” That word made Jason feel funny as Percy said it, “But it’s ‘cuz you are  _ incredibly _ easy to laugh at.”

“What's that supposed to mean?!” 

“Don’t worry, it’s endearing!” Percy assured him but didn’t stop his chuckle, and the adjective conjured up an unfortunate image of Leo, “You just- You’re thrown off  _ so _ fast.” Percy’s explanation sounded more sincere as he added, “I swear, I don’t laugh at you to actually make fun of you- I just missed how flat-out fun getting a rise out of you is when it’s harmless.” His final addition sounded even more serious, “You can always tell me if it's not funny for you, okay?”

He doesn’t mind in actuality, Jason had known for a while to expect this from his friends in general, but especially Percy. Percy had always been the kind of guy to razz someone to show he liked them; It was an open secret that if he didn’t have something to tease you about, it was because he probably didn’t hold you close enough to his chest to bother. 

Jason’s pretty sure he loved him for it, which is terrifying.

Because the thought of saying that out loud makes him want to swallow his own tongue, he instead scoffed with a smirk, “How generous of you,” The song on the radio is changing again, and he used the space in between to slip in, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He’s never been the one in their friend group to speak up when set off. That's not to say he would mope in response, especially not in high school when he was at peak  _ ‘I’m going to put all my feelings right here, and the one day, I’ll die.’ _ Rather, Jason had just kept it logged away mentally, and used that list as a reference for who he could just… be himself around. Percy got lower and lower in risk level on that list as Jason grew to understand him better back then, but their distance had made him a bit afraid of that again. Sue his abandonment issues. 

He wondered if Percy realized that, but the curiosity was jostled out of his mind as the sound they were approaching began to overpower the radio already blasting in the car. He could see the hint of flashing multicolored lights around the corner and reached over to mute the radio as Percy uttered a four-lettered word that would make his mom scowl. Jason steered down the street towards this party’s warehouse of choice, the headlights meaning nothing in the presence of the floodlights already lit outside the venue. There were folks clumped together outside, hanging out and taking smoke breaks or seemingly stepping away from the thumping bass inside the building. Jason had taken ibuprofen in preparation and hoped Percy had heeded his warning when he texted him to do the same earlier. He had to park between an awkward arrangement of cars, and as he killed the engine he listened to the part of him that craved coolness and turned to Percy with a smile and a suggestive tone, “You ready to party?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me? ending the chapter before the party starts because I want to have that be its own separate chapter? more likely than you think, but also because I didn't want to make this chapter much longer :X hope yall liked the update!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooooo, I know I said I wanted to write party things, but I ended wanting to write Jason with his feelings hurt, because that advances the plot :) warning for mentions of drinking! Everyone is of age, just feel it’s appropriate to give a heads up. Hope yall enjoy my first update in awhile <3

It was 3 PM the day after the party, and Piper was slumped against the wall next to Jason’s door, checking her phone and bouncing her leg. Leo had been knocking on Jason's door for what felt like an hour (it had been 5 minutes.) He leaned against it to speak, “Hey buddy, how you holding up in there?”

“Leave me alone,” Jason’s voice came through faintly, “I’m  _ fine _ .”

“ _ ‘Fine’ _ people don’t listen to ‘ _ Someone You Loved’ _ for 5 hours on repeat.” 

“… Who’s to say that's what I’ve been doing?”

“Spotify’s Friend List is an all knowing entity. Emo hours are only allowed to go for 2 max before we get concerned,” Piper tapped the corner of her phone against the door, “C’mon, you need to rejoin the land of the living eventually.”

“I prefer the land of my floor.” If you focussed hard enough, you could still hear the music playing. Lewis Capaldi’s voice stood out, _‘I let my guard down/And then you pulled the rug/I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved.’_

Leo huffed, stepping back from the door, “Alright, that’s enough- Piper, you got a bobby pin?”

“Do I look like the kind of person that thinks to wear bobby pins?” Piper raised a brow at him. That was fair, seeing as her hair was currently pulled back under her girlfriend’s softball hat, choppy pieces falling out to frame her face. 

“Fair point.” He shrugged, digging in his own pockets until he felt his fingers graze one, “Aha- Thank you, Nico!”

Cocking her head to the side, Piper asked, “Why do you have a bobby pin from Nico?”

“Not important,” Leo said curtly, avoiding eye contact as he straightened out the pin enough to jam it in Jason’s lock. He moved it around for a moment until he heard an audible _‘click’_ , then leaned back against the door with his hand on the knob, “Hope you’re not naked!”

“What-?” Jason responded before the room was suddenly filled with light from the hallway, making him curl up with a sharp curse, “ _Shit!_ ” 

There he lay in all his glory, wearing nothing but green plaid boxers and an oversized black T shirt his sister had sent from her band’s tour. Jason’s laptop was next to him, showing that ‘ _Someone You Love’_ was in fact continuing its loop, undeterred by his friend's intrusion. His hair was an uncharacteristic mess but matched the circles under his eyes. 

While Leo closed the door, Piper popped a squat next to him, “How long have you been laying on the floor?”

“None of your business.” Blue eyes glared up at her, but that might’ve just been Jason squinting, his glasses forgotten on his desk.

Piper looked like she was going to respond but was interrupted by Leo, “Alright, lights time.” He flicked the switch up, further illuminating the room. In a shift in the usual Jason Grace fashion, he wasn’t the only mess in the room— Granted, it was only his bed that looked _‘messy’_ by his standards, but that was still a strange sight. Leo noticed and winced, “Yikes, you’re really hurting over what happened.”

Jason turned away from Piper to stare at the ceiling, “I will not confirm or deny how I feel about Percy-fuckin’-Jackson right now.”

“Jason,” Piper said slowly as she elected to stretch out on the floor beside him, “It’s okay to be upset about whatever happened.”

“Yeah, this is y’know, just a bit much-” Leo started to say, before Piper jerked her head to look at him and kick his shin, “Is… what I would say if I weren’t super here for you right now!” He stepped over them to lay on the other side of Jason, moving his laptop, “Meaning I’m joining the floor party too.”

Jason didn’t even laugh at his best friends gently bullying each other, continuing to be very deep in an unnamed feeling. Finally, he spoke up, purposefully gruff to avoid the waver that seeked to overtake his tone, “I just can’t believe he pulled that shit.”

They’d gotten to the party just in time to meet up with Leo and Piper. There, pulling himself out of the crowd was a shiny, sparkly Leo, tugging along an equally shimmering Piper. The strobe light practically set them on fire and Jason exaggerated how difficult it was to look at them as he’d laughed, “What happened to you two?”

“There's a _very_ enthusiastic girl wearing a _lot_ of body glitter up by the DJ-” Piper was grinning at him with a different sort of twinkle in her eye, “And check it out.” She rolled up the sleeve of her tracksuit jacket, showing a sequence written in what looked like sparkly gel pen ink- It didn’t take much of an investigation to guess where that came from.

“I’d like to remind you of a woman in your life that starts with _‘Rey-’_ and ends with _‘-na.’_ ” He’d said, while Percy and Leo busied themselves catching up behind them. Their quickfire back and forth hadn’t changed much from high school— They hadn’t been close per say, but they’d always been able to neg each other on, similar sense of humor flowing with ease.

Piper had then let him know from there that Reyna was also very proud of Piper, they’d laughed, it was perfect. Jason wasn’t always the party type, but something about being near the three of them was encouraging him to set his shoulders a bit looser, standing taller. Piper eventually grabbed him, moving him further towards the center of the room, saying it was to dance. But once they were there, she asked him, “How’d the ride here go?”

In a room this loud, her yelling registered as an appropriate whisper, and Jason replied in kind, “I accidentally called him a Dixie cup.”

She’d turned then, scanning the crowd for Percy again, catching him now talking to the Stolls- both brothers were decked out an atrocious amount of glow sticks, so it was easy to spot them- and then turned back to Jason, “You’re right, he does!”

That had made Jason laugh, and they did end up dancing for a couple songs, Piper insisting about needing to let Percy explore on his own before trying to reel him in. No, she wasn’t telling him to play hard to get or anything, but _‘distance does make the heart grow fonder.’_

Eventually Percy found them on his own, smiling wide at Piper, “Care if I cut in?”

“Be my guest,” Piper stepped away with an over exaggerated flourish, like he wanted in on a slow dance, not a remix of _Livin’ La Vida Loca,_ “I’m gonna go see if they have anything that’s not trash beer, catch y’all later!”

If Piper was his safety net in that moment, having Percy this close made him the trapeze, and Jason the poor schmuck that thought the circus sounded like a safe profession. Jason had swallowed hard, ready to say something, but suddenly Percy had taken him by the hand and they were dancing and it didn’t make sense to ruin the smile Percy had with talking. Instead, they moved with everyone else in the room, having fun in favor of acknowledging how sticky the makeshift dance floor was. Really, what could you expect from a warehouse party? Instead, Jason focussed on how Percy looked when the song turned to _Tell It To My Heart_ , overly campy since high school. No, it wasn’t about being a good dancer (though Jason knew he could be from many hours of choreo hell numbers) but about having fun. Jason joined in on what could be best described as _‘dancing like no one’s watching’_ and participating brought up a faint memory of all of them in his car after school, when Percy use to insist on keeping the windows down as they screamed through downtown, speeding to get back to the school in time for rehearsal. It took a certain level of comfort for Jason to ever be able to ignore people looking at him, but being around Percy just made it easier. 

He’d snapped out of it when Percy had finally spoken, yelling over the music as loud as Piper had, “So, how did Travis and Conner get this place?”

“The same way they got everything in high school,” Jason shrugged, “Don’t you remember how they always _‘know a guy?’_ ”

That had made Percy laugh and therefore Jason nervous-happy. He was going to continue trying to make him laugh, when someone knocked into Percy from behind, and suddenly Percy’s was stumbling and Jason was grabbing him to try to keep him from falling and they found themselves, for all intents and purposes, doing a dip in the middle of the dancefloor. People were staring. Percy was staring, looking at Jason through wide eyes, embarrassed blush matching the one Jason had to have been wearing. And in true Percy fashion, he cracked a smirk and pulled himself even closer to Jason, “Oh, wow, I had no idea you felt this strongly about me, Jay.”

Jason couldn’t find the brainpower to respond, caught between a rock and a dumb place, his brain mid blue screen. Instead of anything eloquent coming out to save the day he eventually replied, “Would you be okay with that?”

“What?” Percy’s face changed, tensing in his arms.

“What?” Jason’s face changed too, as he wondered how long he’d have to hold his breath to pass out.

Neither spoke for the heavy moment they remained frozen. Eventually Percy shifted, looking like he wanted to stand up, “I think you can let me go now.”

Jason had done so wordlessly, and people finally looked away as Percy got back onto his own two feet. The song had thankfully changed and the Hanson Brothers provided an excellent sing-a-long distraction for the rest of the party. As everyone else busied themselves shouting the approximate gibberish to _MMMBop_ , Percy gave Jason a half smile, “I think I’m gonna grab a drink, you want anything?”

“N-No, I can get one for myself later,” Jason shook his head, “Thanks, though. I- I think I’m actually gonna go, uh, get some air. Outside.”

The look in Percy’s eyes was strangely concerned but he nodded anyway before walking away. Jason was left to stumble his own way out of the crowd until he was just outside the entrance. He slumped against the metal siding of the warehouse building, biting the inside of his cheek hard. 

Present time Jason could still trace the soreness of the bite on the inside of his cheek with his tongue. Next time to him, Leo spoke from his position in the floor party, “And that’s when I found you, yeah.”

“Yeah,” Jason nodded, “And you got me that drink, and we talked.”

“And I laughed at you.” Leo puckered his lips, looking away, “Now, of course, I feel way worse about that, for the record.”

Jason elected to ignore his half-apology, continuing his recount of the night, “It took _20 minutes_ for Percy to bother to come find me.”

Percy had done that, met the cold night air to look around for him. He spotted Jason and Leo talking, and came over, lifting the red solo cup in his hand up in greeting. “Sup, man!” Leo saved Jason the trouble of responding by greeting Percy first, giving Jason another minute to collect himself.

“Wanted to make sure my dance partner hadn’t wandered off,” Percy cocked his head towards Jason, “You good, Jay?”

Jason took a very deep sip of beer- which was probably _‘trash beer’_ by everyone else's standards, but it had a low ABV and Jason didn’t feel too guilty about still driving later if he just had this one over the course of the whole night- before responding, “Fine, I just needed a break.”

“Same here,” Percy smiled at him, and Jason noted that he seemed steadier than before in the expression, “It gets hot in there, huh?” He was holding his Dixie Cup jacket in his other hand, “I was actually wondering if it’d be cool to stick this in your car?”

“Of course.” Jason nodded, digging his car keys out of his pocket as he took another sip to finish his can. Leo offered to toss it for him, looking between Jason and Percy in a way that Jason would describe as _‘not helpful.’_

The walk to the car was oddly quiet for a beat, and Jason realized then that Percy was waiting for them to be out of earshot of anyone before his voice dropped, “That was fun.”

“What?” Jason blinked at him, “The party?”

“Well, yeah, of course,” Percy laughed, “But I’m talking about that smooth move back at the party. It was fun to have all eyes on us, don’t you think?”

Jason pursed his lips, “I’m gonna take this opportunity to remind you that I might not look it, but clinical anxiety exists _prominently_ in my body.”

But that just made Percy laugh more, which of course eventually made Jason smile, as it had for years. He replied in a tone that was almost wistful, “Y’know, I missed this— Something goes a little bit wrong, I adapt, you panic, the natural order of things,” He turns his head to look at Jason with a smile, “It’s cute.”

Something about the word and the smile on Percy’s face made him ache. And all he could think is _‘if only you knew,’_ and Jason wasn’t sure if _he_ knew what he wanted Percy to know, but it hurt and looking at him was both a relief and salt in the wound. They made it to the car and he unlocked the door while his tongue searched for the words, “Guess it is inevitable we’d fall in old habits, huh?” He leaned against the car while Percy threw his jacket in the back.

“Hey, I like our old habits.” Percy replied with an ease that made Jason jealous. 

But he got distracted from his jealousy by the fact that Percy chose to lean against the car too. He had looked to be in no hurry to get back to the party, but wasn’t looking at Jason. That choice made it slightly less terrifying for Jason to pose a question, “Did you miss them?”

The question hung heavy in the air between them before Percy replied, “Are you asking if I missed the habits, or if I missed you?”

That stung. This was supposed to be fun, and now Jason was a good 100 yards from the party next to the person that was truly the closest thing to be his highschool sweetheart without there ever being a label on them, and suddenly they were making eye contact, and Percy was suddenly close to him, standing in front of him even, his hand floating just over Jason’s own-

“Percy-fuckin’-Jackson?!” A voice cut clear across the parking area towards them, and they both jumped, jerking their heads towards the unmistakable sound of Mike Kalahe. Of course it had to be this alumni of their school that interrupted them at that moment. 

Percy’s face split with a wider grin, and he stepped away from Jason, taking a few of his heartstrings away with him. It had taken everything in Jason to not snap at Mike to buzz off then and there, but he was already walking towards them, an oblivious look of excitement on his annoyingly handsome face. 

(Normally Jason tried not to judge based on appearance, but Mike was one of those people that made you mad to acknowledge as attractive.)

They dissolved into an easy back in forth catch-up right in front of him, both clearly and unfortunately thrilled to run into each other. Jason had wanted to dissolve on the spot, but his desires were halted by Mike turning his attention towards him, “Didn’t expect to see you here, Grace.”

“Jason was actually the one who invited me,” Percy spared him a glance and a gesture, “We were just talking about how much fun we were having, this is just a quick break to catch some air.”

The snort that Mike gave wasn’t exactly flattering towards Jason, and he offset it with a half-compliment, “Gotta say I’m glad he did— If you two are done with your break, we could head in together, keep the party going.”

“That sounds good to me,” Percy turned to him, “You good to head in?”

Jason tried to mask his somewhat shaky inhale, “I think I might hang out for a bit longer, actually.”

“Suit yourself,” Mike shrugged, starting to walk towards the warehouse, “C’mon, Jackson.”

“One sec,” Percy nodded, but he waited a second before he turned back towards Jason, “That reminded me of what I forgot to say earlier, thanks for inviting me here.”

Jason answered too fast, “Course. Glad you came.”

Percy hummed, and leaned in in a way that was still too far away, “See you in there, Jay.” His fingers grazed Jason’s before he walked away, not waiting for a response. 

“See you.” Jason had said too late, his eyes following the little jog Percy had given to catch up to his old friend. He wouldn’t see Percy again until it was time to leave, and they were both tragically quiet on the ride back home. 

The story ended, and Jason felt Piper’s warm hand on his face, wiping away a tear he didn’t realize he cried. Leo had paused the song at some point, and he looked conflicted as he lay on his stomach. It was clear that neither knew what would be appropriate to say. 

Obviously, they loved Jason and were angry on his behalf. But they also loved Jason and wanted to spare whatever feelings remained. They just waited instead for him to adjust to the present again. When he did it was with a shaky sigh, “So… yeah. My head hurts from lack of sleep, my chest hurts because Percy-fuckin’-Jackson’s got me feeling like trash, and I probably need a shower. That’s why I’m on the floor; I don't know which to fix first.”

“It's okay not to know,” Piper said back, “And now that I know what happened, I’m pretty cool hanging out on the floor with you until you’re ready to do stuff again.”

“Same here,” Leo agreed with her, “I can order something on Grubhub from the place downtown if you want. There's not much fries and milkshakes from there can’t fix.” 

“Thanks, guys.” Jason hummed, his arm moving to shield his eye, “‘Preciate it.” 

He knew that for the rest of the day he’d unavoidably be thinking about how it felt for Percy to get that close for the fix time in years, the way the adrenaline of it made it easier to ignore the sweet smell on Percy’s breath, and the sharp mixture of anger and fear at how fast Percy was able to drop their conversation. If he had the power, Jason knew he would’ve done anything to replay the moment and figure out a way to make it work. 

Anything but let Percy walk away.

**Author's Note:**

> These chapters are probably going to be a bit shorter at first until I get into the plot I have planned. I'm hoping to have a pretty frequent update schedule if I can manage it. My college is one of, y'know, all of them that have called off in-person class time and are sending all of us home to isolate ourselves, so I'll have a lot more free time outside of class. I hope everyone who reads this is staying safe and healthy. We'll get through this y'all, just stay home, drink water, wash your hands, and read some fic to pass the time <3


End file.
